Why Comparing Your WLS Journey to Others is Dangerous

After weight loss surgery, one of the best things to do is get involved in the bariatric community. It is seriously an amazing feeling finding other people who are going through a similar journey. I did not realize how alone I felt before finding people to walk this road with. With all of the social media platforms, there are so many ways to stay connected with one another. I have found some amazing support groups on Facebook, watched so many videos on YouTube of fellow patients, read a hundred blogs, and now I am even enjoying watching people share their life on TikTok. It is so helpful being able to learn from other people who have gone through similar situations. However, you must be careful with this. If you are anything like me, you might be a little competitive and it might start influencing you in a negative way if you are not careful. 

I am definitely one that loves to compete and sometimes this can get in my way. I remember when I first had bariatric surgery, I would follow a few people on social media and when I saw them share their stats, I would get really upset if I was not there too. We had surgery around the same time so I felt like I should be losing at the same speed as them. I would get so upset that I would start starving myself, and it created a really bad mindset. When you are on a weight loss surgery journey, often times you will feel rushed and like you have to go extremely fast with your weight loss. The truth is, everyone is different. Some people lose really fast, while others go a lot slower. This is not a race and it is so hard to remember that at times, especially when you have been overweight for so long and are anxious to get to your goal weight. 

I think we need this bariatric community to be successful, but I also think you have to be careful how you look at it. Not everything that works for one person will work for you. You might not always agree with what someone else is doing and that is totally fine. I promise you though, it will only cause you anger and depression if you start always comparing your journey to someone else’s. Even though we are on a similar path, our stories are all different. This community is supposed to help lift each other up. Do not abuse it and use it as an opportunity to hate on yourself or someone else. Remember that we are all just trying to do our best. Our society has caused us to put so much pressure on ourselves and sometimes that means that we are too competitive and start using that energy to hate on someone else’s success. If you are struggling with these feelings, I encourage you to take a step back and remember the point of this community. Be happy for other people, even the ones you see posting that you might not know. We are all fighting our own battles and it will not do anything but hurt you if you start obsessing about being better than someone else. 

If you are curious to learn how they have been so successful, reach out to them. Use this time to ask questions and learn from their behaviors. However, do not get so obsessed to where you feel like you need to be exactly where they are at because you did the exact same thing. Your body might respond differently to carbohydrates or fats, and it just takes time to figure that out on a weight loss surgery journey. Be patient with yourself and continue researching and fighting for your own journey. We all need one another to be successful and we need to keep the positivity so we can all achieve our own goals. There is no winner. We are all in this together!